Meet the Models, Christina Clements

“just because I am doing lots of things, doesn’t mean I am not dealing with things internally. One day I am going to die from this disease- I will never be cured, so I need to be making the most out of everyday. if I remain positive, that has a lot to say about my survival. I am going to keep on keeping on.”

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Meet the Models: Alissa Christie, Love Local, Newburyport

Hi Everyone-  welcome to Love, Local on this beautiful evening. And thank you for supporting Runway for  recovery and such an amazing cause. 

My name is Alissa Christie, I live here in Newburyport, with my husband and two daughters. I’m here to tell the story about my beautiful mother, who was my best friend – and her 18 year battle with breast cancer that ultimately took her life 6 years ago.

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Meet the Models, SoCal: Ricky Hsin

Runway for Recovery’s growth to the west coast began out of Ricky Hsin’s desire to honor his sister, Rachael. In nearly all ways, Ricky and his sister grew up opposites and being the children of immigrant parents meant the two had to forge their path in America for themselves. Despite their differences, the two almost always found themselves converging on the same course, even attending the same high school and college. After Ricky married his wife, Melissa, and had their daughter, Lily, his sister remained an integral part of their lives- now expanding her role to being a super aunt.

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Meet the Models: Katie Smith

Katie Smith was enjoying all the facets of being a new mother to her boys, ages 2 and 5. In fact, she and her husband were trying for a third. Six months prior, given extensive family history of breast cancer, Katie received her first mammogram, at an earlier than typical age, and was all clear. She carried on with family life and being a science teacher to her middle schoolers. Her seemingly blissful family existence was soon shattered, first by a miscarriage and then a devastating diagnosis of stage four metastatic breast cancer. Katie has been fighting the disease for three years now.

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Meet the Models: Barbara Bigelow

Barbara Bigelow is a force in the world of breast cancer. Cancer has been apart of her life for twenty years. She was originally diagnosed with early stage breast cancer and entered treatment. What proved to be even more shocking was that in her first year of treatment, her two sisters were diagnosed with breast cancer. Sadly, one sister passed away of metastatic breast cancer.

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Meet the Models: Cassandra (Cassy) Villalta

Cassy Villalta beams with positivity. One would never know the journey she has been on in the past decade. At just 35, with a 3 and 5 year old at home, Cassy was diagnosed with grade 3 ductal carcinoma. She would go on to have a lumpectomy, chemo, radiation and immunotherapy. It was grueling schedule, but Cassy remained upbeat throughout: “as long as it was fixable, I kept a smile on my face.” Her main priority was her children and ensuring their lives were uninterrupted by her diagnosis. She remains steadfast in her motivation to have her children’s memories of growing up not be tainted with images of her sick.

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